Campus Leaders

Blessings of the Advent Season. May God grant you much grace as you speak into this important opportunity of openness. May your ministry be a prism for light to shine through and reveal the God colours of the world. In a C.S. Lewis talk (www.cslewis.org), Wheaton College professor Jerry Root asks, “What sound does grace make? Nothing. It means nothing to people until it touches the point of their brokenness.”

In Christian theology, Jesus reveals to us not only who God is but also what it means to be truly human. This true humanity is not something we achieve on our own; it comes to us as a gift .... The reception of this gift contains an ineliminable element of mystery that will always require faith. Jesus in his life, teaching, death and resurrection and ongoing presence in the church and through the Holy Spirit ... orders us towards God. He directs our passions and desires towards that which can finally fulfill them and bring us happiness. (Marquette theologian D. Stephen Long, The Goodness of God, 106-7)

Library Infrastructure Project

Together with some other Outreach Canada colleagues, I am working on a project to which you may be able to provide vital assistance. All pastors need mentors, especially young pastors. We want to provide an annotated resource base for young pastors, especially those who may not attend seminary, to set out a reading program early in their ministry. This gets them to dig deeper than the popular writers of the day. Do you have a favorite theologian or commentary, literature that builds a good cultural interface with the Christian faith? Our feeling is that pastors across Canada can help each other make the church stronger through championing great resources, in order to shape the prophetic voice of the future. A good example would be Kevin Vanhoozer’s book below. I have included other books that I think would make excellent reading for your ministry. Think about the possibilities for leveraging the future story of the church in our country.

Thanks for your consideration and prayers,

Gordon Carkner PhD

Is God Happy?Selected Essays ~ Lesek Kolakowski

The Road to Character. ~ David Brooks

The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision ~ Kevin Vanhoozer

Why Jesus? Rediscovering his truth in an age of mass marketed spirituality. ~ Ravi Zacharias